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Essay / Eight Hundred Dollars and a Dream - 1017
An assembly line at the Lincoln-Mercury automobile plant is where the idea of Motown first developed in Berry's mind Gordon. Every day, Berry Gordy watched a piece of bare metal frame roll down the assembly line and reach the end to become a shiny new automobile. He thought this concept was ideal and could be used to produce music. Mr. Gordy's vision was to take an unknown person with just a dream and raw talent and make them a star in the music industry. His assembly line idea and vision later became a reality that we all know and love as “Motown” (motownmuseum.org). Mr. Gordy is responsible for many music industry stars who, much like the metal strap, became a vision of beauty once Gordy. finished with them. The term "Motown" is popular and refers to a legend, a style of music, a state of mind and a thriving music industry. The beginning of the Motown legend began when Berry Gordy borrowed eight hundred dollars from family members to start Tamla Records in 1959. By 1961, Gordy sold a million records, the Miracles' "Shop Around." (Waller 11). In ten years, the legendary Motown had released twenty-two number one pop hits, forty-eight number one rhythm and blues hits, and had become the largest black-owned company in America (15). Actor Sidney Poitier best described Barry Gordy as a person who aimed to make music for everyone, regardless of race. In doing so, Berry Gordy made black music, the Motown sound, part of mainstream popular culture in America (mackinac.org). Gordy had white teenagers all over America humming the catchy tunes of the Four Tops and the Temptations. After that, he promoted a wave of black stars, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. Gordy wanted their music, and that of other Motown singers, to reach a wider white audience in America (bsnpubs.com).